2011 NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY FINAL - BROWN GETS FOURTH ATLANTA DRAGWAY WIN; BECKMAN, LINE, TONGLET ALSO WINNERS IN ATLANTA
Antron Brown held off his teammate Tony Schumacher as he raced to his second win of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Jack Beckman, Jason Line and LE Tonglet also won in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Brown drove his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.856-second run at 318.69 mph to hold off teammate Tony Schumacher and earn his second win of the season, 27th of his career and fourth at Atlanta Dragway (two in Top Fuel, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle).
“It was tough all weekend,” said Brown. “Qualifying didn’t go like we wanted it to of course. But our boys just pulled together like they did in Vegas and when race day comes, the game face goes on. Any given Sunday anybody can win it. We came out here this weekend and just took it one round at a time.”
With the win Brown moved up to the second spot in the Top Fuel point standings, 70 points behind leader Del Worsham, who lost in the first round of eliminations to Shawn Langdon.
In Funny Car, fellow Don Schumacher Racing driver Beckman also collected his second win of the season. Beckman powered his Aaron’s/Valvoline Dodge Charger to a 4.111 at 311.05 to charge past points leader Mike Neff in the final round. The win was the 11th of Beckman's career win and his second win at Atlanta Dragway.
“Any win is good,” said Beckman. “You take everybody serious. But beating a John Force car has kind of got a nice topping on that ice cream sundae if you know what I mean. They are at the top of their game.”
Beckman moved up to the second spot in the Funny Car points standings with the win, 20 points behind leader and runner up Neff.
Jason Line held off teammate Greg Anderson in an all Summit Racing Pro Stock final to secure his third win of the season and first at his sponsor’s event. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.600 at 208.42 to get his 23rd career win in Pro Stock.
“It was a good day, it really was,” said Line. “After the semis, Greg and I got down there and we were excited. We felt we needed a miracle to win because we didn’t feel like we performed like we should’ve. But somehow we got it. But Summit won today and that was the biggest thing.”
The final round matchup between Line and Anderson gave the two drivers the first and second place spot in the point standings, respectively.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet held off the fast-charging Karen Stoffer in the final round to collect his first win of the season and sixth of his career. Tonglet rode his Nitro Fish Suzuki to a 6.924 at 191.62 to get the win and move to fourth in the point standings.
“We’re really happy with the way that Nitro Fish Suzuki is running,” said Tonglet. “It’s really been a fun bike to ride. It’s so smooth and it’s just hauling butt. There is really nothing more we can do to it.”
With her runner-up finish, Stoffer secured the top spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, 15 points ahead of second-place Andrew Hines.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues May 20-22 with the 23rd annual NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.
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SATURDAY - FORCE TIES JOHNSON FOR MOST NO. 1 QUALIFIERS IN NHRA HISTORY; MASSEY, EDWARDS, TONGLET ALSO GET NO. 1 SPOT IN ATLANTA
John Force tied NHRA Pro Stock Legend Warren Johnson for the most No. 1 qualifiers in NHRA history as qualifying came to an end Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Spencer Massey, Mike Edwards and LE Tonglet also earned the top spots in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Force tied Johnson at 138 No. 1 qualifiers after his impressive run Friday night of 4.072-seconds at 310.98 mph was strong enough to keep his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang in the top spot in Funny Car. It was also Force’s fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifier for the season.
“I’ve got a good race car,” said Force. “Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas made that happen. Warren Johnson is the Babe Ruth of Pro Stock, and I’ve tied him. I’ve never raced him, but that’s pretty cool.”
Force will face Tim Wilkerson in the first round of eliminations, while defending winner and Force’s teammate, Robert Hight, will match-up against Cruz Pedregon in the first round.
In Top Fuel, Massey’s Friday night run in his Prestone/FRAM dragster of 3.825-seconds at 323.19 mph was strong enough to give him his second No. 1 qualifier of his career in the exact place where he earned his first in 2009.
“Two years ago when I raced here, I qualified No. 1, got to the final round and couldn’t seal the deal,” said Massey. “I’d like to make it back to the final round and seal the deal this time. It’s just an honor to be back out here racing again. Last year sitting out the whole year and then to be back this season with such a great team as Don Schumacher Racing is really an honor.”
Massey will face Pat Dakin in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham will face off against Shawn Langdon, while defending event winner Larry Dixon will face Winternationals winner Morgan Lucas.
Edwards held on to the top spot in Pro Stock with his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP. His Friday night run of 6.605 at 208.55 was strong enough to give Edwards his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.
“It’s going to be a lot of thinking and adjusting tomorrow because conditions are going to be very, very different,” said Edwards, referring to the cooler temperatures forecasted for Commerce, Ga. on Sunday. “That’s what makes these engines run really well and make more power. Conditions will definitely be good for Pro Stock racing.”
Tonglet took the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle in the final round of qualifying Saturday. Tonglet rode his Nitro Fish Suzuki to a 6.904 at 192.93 run en route to his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season.
“After that run I was coasting and everyone was saying No. 1 off to the side and I was thinking it was Andrew (Hines),” said Tonglet, who was paired up with Hines during the final qualifying run. “I didn’t expect us to get two No. 1’s in a row. After I took my helmet off, it just kind of hit me that we have a really fast bike.”
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FINAL QUALIFYING
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PRO SESSION - 3
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FRIDAY - FORCE SITS NO.1 IN ATLANTA; MASSEY, EDWARDS, KRAWIEC ALSO IN PROVISIONAL TOP SPOTS AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
John Force continued his domination of Atlanta Dragway as he took the provisional No. 1 qualifier Friday night at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.
Spencer Massey, Mike Edwards and Eddie Krawiec also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Force, who has a career record at Atlanta Dragway that includes seven wins, six runner-ups and seven No. 1 qualifiers, drove his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.072-second pass at 310.98 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season and 138th of his career, which would tie him for the most in NHRA history with Pro Stock driver and Buford, Ga. native Warren Johnson.
“The fans are just starting to like me in Atlanta, so why would I want to make them mad by taking it away from Warren Johnson, I know how they like him,” said Force. “I’ve never raced Warren Johnson. If you put me in a Pro Stocker I couldn’t even start it. So I don’t want to compare. It would be like comparing baseball to football. Any time you can put your name up with a guy like Warren Johnson, I’m proud, and it’s cool.”
Recent event winner Jeff Arend sits third in the field while points leader Mike Neff is currently eighth.
In Top Fuel, Massey drove his Prestone/FRAM dragster to a 3.825 at 323.19 in the final qualifying session of the day to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Massey’s first of the season and only second of his career.
“I knew we had a car that was very capable of running an 82 or possibly a 79 to go No. 1, but what was nerve racking was watching all the other cars go in front of us and smoke the tires,” said Massey. “But Todd (Okuhara, crew chief) and Phil (Shuler, crew chief), they run their program a little bit differently and I have total trust in what they do. They’re not the kind of guys that come back and make little changes because they saw the cars in front of them go up in smoke.”
Defending event winner and world champion Larry Dixon will enter Saturday qualifying not yet qualified for the field, while current points leader Del Worsham sits second in the field.
In Pro Stock, Edwards posted the quickest runs of both qualifying sessions and powered his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.605 at 208.55. If it stands, it would be his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.
“If we get the cooler weather tomorrow, for sure that time won’t stand,” said Edwards. “But we made two good runs today and we’re real happy about that. We’ll just come out here tomorrow and hopefully make two more good ones.”
Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.933 at 192.44. If it stands, it would be Krawiec’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and seventh of his career.
“Something that we’ve struggled with all season has been having fast consistent motorcycles,” said Krawiec, who’s teammate Andrew Hines sits fourth in the field. “To go 105 at the 60 foot mark right off the track during the first run, for our team, that’s really a strong point, that’s where we’ve lacked. If you can make everything work together, it’s going to go that much faster.”
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
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FRIDAY PRO SESSION - 1
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FRIDAY SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING -
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